The Third Book: Fire
by Martamos
Summary: 1 week after the events at Ba Sing Se and the Gaang is now at the Easten Air temple seaking help for Aang, Whats wrong with Katara, what is Azula unveiling over Ba Sing Se and who is the figure dressed in black?


Kraiken: I do not own Avatar the last airbender or the characters within, I did right this story though.

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**The Third Book- Fire**

**Chapter ****1-The Awakening**

Atop a hill in the Earth Kingdom stood a figure in black clothing. The figure surveyed his surroundings new to him. He looked down at his fingers clicking them causing a fire to spring up between his fingers he looked at this for a second the figure before smiled. The figure closed his eyes and sank into the ground.

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Just off the edge of Earth kingdom in a region rarely explored, as it is near unreachable, high atop the mountains lies the Eastern air temple and on one of the main platforms sat an odd assortment of people. Two were not people but animals one a strange gliding lemur and the other a 10 ton flying bison formal native to the area. Near these animals sat a young blind girl in Earth kingdom cloths called Toph starring off into the distance sadly, although she was blind she could all around hr she could see the water tribe boy Sokka next to her sharpening his boomerang ("idiot" she thought), she looked past him to she his sister Katara sitting on the edge of the platform still hugging her legs to her chest and though Toph could not see it she could tell that the girl was crying. 

Katara was indeed crying she had rarely stopped for the last week and a half. She kept getting flashes of Aang fall though the air after Azula shot him in the back with a lightning bolt, she flinched as she always did when she saw it. She had revived Aang for a bit before he had slipped off again and had rarely come to since, the only other time he had woken was when they had stopped briefly to drop the earth king of on an Earth kingdom out post when she was able to start heeling his wounds, not remembering to heel her self, she had spent hours healing him before woke up. She remembered her heart lifting as he smiled at her again though she did not stop healing him once an till he gripped her hand to stop her from healing him and said "Stop worrying about me Katara look after your self" and then he passed out again, she never remembered crying so much in her life even when her mother died. She looked over to an opening to the left of her were in side Guru Pathik was examining Aang to see what was wrong with him.

Katara got up, wiped her face and began to walk to the opening. Sokka saw her and run to meet her.

"Katara there's nothing you can do your just going to have to wait" sated Sokka, Smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder to which she then punched him in the stomach. "ouch" he said weakly, Toph laughed.

Katara continued onwards into the opening, she waked through the old passage still fighting back tears. She emerged into a room open to the sky were Aang motionless lay on a raised bed. She walked over to him before a voice said "Don't touch him", the guru she thought.

"How is he" she asked.

"You were correct in your observation of him" he said solemnly "his sprit was court in transition before he was pulled back"

"Pulled back?"

"Yes pulled"

"Then why is he still sleeping?"

"One does not simple leave the body then return without scathing I would very much like to know how he was retrieved from death"

Katara smiled weakly "That would be me"

The Guru raised his eyebrows "and how did you do this?"

"Water from the Sprit Oasis at the North Pole"

"It takes a lot of power to use such a substance" he said smiling.

"Power?" she asked perplexed.

"Not power as such in the traditional sense but emotional power, the power of connection that binds two people together"

Katara frowned "What are you saying?"

"A strong feeling that you feel for him had to be reciprocated in him"

"I don't understand" she said though a thought was brewing in her mind.

Guru Pathik walked over to Aang "I wonder we did not have a chance to ask names but is your named Katara?"

"Yes" she said shocked "how did you know that?"

"He spoke of you when he was last hear, he did in fact speak of you very highly Katara"

She blushed slightly 'why would Aang speak of her' she thought "I should go" she said.

She tuned to leave and was near the opening when Pathik spoke again "I near understand now why Aang did what he did, to have some one as kind as you worry about them for a boy with nothing this is beyond any thing else"

"What do you mean?"

Pathik laughed "What an odd boy to give up the world for a girl who doesn't even know what he feels"

Katara's stomach lurched, she felt like she had fallen a thousand feet in reverse then set alight with ice cold fire. She turned blank faced and walked into the tunnel.

Pathik smiled and turned to Aang"If you were not going to do it then will" he chuckled.

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Far off in Ba Sing Se the palace was having a new door put in place, designed to look like a baggermole but could only be opened through the use of fire bending. The citizens of the city were now fully a were of the fire nations presence in the city, fire nation soldiers had been snuck into the city over a week and the earth kingdom soldiers had been dealt with and now the city was under the governorship of Princess Azula of the fire nation. 

Azula smiled as her brother walked in, Zuko looked on plainly she surveyed him in his ornate fire nation armour "why so glum brother" she said approaching him.

"I'm just nervous" he said not looking at her.

She smiled once more "how does it feel to be with the fire nation again"

"Pleasant, it's like knowing I'm home"

"That's good because that is were your going"

"What do you mean?"

"Father orders you home" Zuko flinched "don't worry Zuko he just wishes you to return for new instructions, I am assigning Long Feng to go with you, it is important that we get father to trust the Dai Li as they will be important in the coming months"

Zuko frond "Why, what's going to happen".

Azula smiled in an uncharacteristically girly way and said "You'll find out" then resumed her normal pose "I will see you soon brother" she bowed and he reciprocated and he then went to leave before she added "Oh and you'll be taking uncle with you" Zuko walked out without turning around. Azula smiled to her self.

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Back at the Eastern Air temple Toph and Sokka were both standing around Katara who had not said a word since she had come back from checking on Aang she had just gone to the edge of the ledge and not moved once with a dumbstruck look on her face. 

Toph leaned forward and prodded Katara on the cheek "Hello Earth to Sweetness".

"Do ya think the news was so bad that she became deaf" Sokka said in a of hand kind of way, Toph punched him in the stomach causing him to real backwards.

Toph felt deep into the ground so that she could feel Katara's heart beat it was unusually fast for her "She feels like she has received a kind of shock"

"So I wasn't wrong" said Sokka proudly standing up "just kidding" he yelled as she went to hit him again.

"I'm fine" whispered Katara not moving.

"Are you shore?" asked Toph.

"Of cause"

Sokka walked over to her "really because you've not moved in an hour".

"I just heard some thing that shocked me a little" she said with a nervous laugh.

Toph not moving from her standing position "is it about Aang?"

"He's going to be fine" Katara snapped turning away as she was starting to cry again.

"Great problem solved" stated Sokka in his usual tone.

Toph shushed him and turned to face Katara turning her face so that it was facing her "Katara", she turned to face Toph "Is it about Aang" Katara looked at her for a moment be running away tears leaking down her face.

"What's with her" asked Sokka, this got him another punch in the gut.

Katara sat by a pool of water at the base of the temple, she looked at her face in the water, she looked at her tear streaked face remembering how Aang had always complemented her on how she looked, she had thought nothing of it then she had always been under the impression that he was just being nice. "So" she said "This is what Aang was willing to give up the world for" tears still streaking down her face she untied her hair so that it hung loose at her shoulders, bending water she formed a sharp bit of ice and gabbing her hair she cut through her it taking a huge chunk out of from the left side leaving her hair lob sided. She looked at herself in the pool her face still wet with tears, she could not help but even it up with a slice of water. She looked at her self again she looked in her opinion better than before with her hair now falling only to her shoulders. She hit the water freezing it into a jagged pattern.

'Why' she thought, she stood up, dusted herself off and left.

* * *

Iroh sat in his cell beneath Ba Sing Se ten Dei Li situated out side the door. Iroh just stat there not caring, humming to him self. 

"Shut up old man" shouted one of the Dei Li hitting the cell door.

"You will gain nothing from yelling at me" Iroh said flatly "if you wish for my silence you will have to ask nicely you cannot gain anything of worth through yelling at it".

There was a pause, then "could you be quite...please" this prompted a fit of laughter from the other guards. Iroh grinned, he liked to help. He was not sorry for his decision how the Avatar spoke about his love was more than enough persuasion for him. His only regret at the moment was the fact that he would not get a decent meal for a long time now 'But' he thought looking at his gut, he could probably do with a diet anyway.

* * *

Katara stormed onto the platform the others were sat on heading once again to the area were the Guru was examining Aang. She passed Sokka who was shocked at the change in her appearance. 

"Katara what did you do to your hair?" he asked, a tad loudly thought Katara.

"Why what's she done?" asked Toph perplexed.

"I just gave it a cut that's all" she said distracted by the attention.

"Was it for Aangy" taunted Toph laughing at her but she stopped when Katara did not answer.

"Why are you blushing" asked Sokka raising an eye brow.

"Its nothing Sokka" she said turning to enter the tunnel again.

"Oh ok then" he said watching her go and began to walk away before turning around again his eyes wide "hay" he yelled running after her but he was cut short after his legs sunk into the ground stopping him in his tracks.

"Stay out of it" said Toph lazily resting against Appa's side.

"No I will not stay out of it, I will never stay out of it, from this moment on in fact intend to stay in it for ever more, I am never letting them have a conversation along again, hence forth I am always to be present" he stopped drawing sharp breaths.

"You know if you keep that up you'll have to wait an till Aang wakes up before you get out"

Sokka's eyes widened before he said sheepishly "Ill be good".

Katara exited the tunnel to see Aang once more lying on his table; see could not bear to look at him. She did though realize something she had not seen before, Aang's head was covered in hair 'It soot's him' she thought before shaking her head quick trying to rid her self of the thought. She heard something from above, looking up she sore Guru Pathik looking across the mountains and climbed up to meet him.

He turned to look at her as she approached "Hello Katara" he said.

"Hello" she said passively.

"I'm shore Aang will like what you've done to your hair" he said with a chuckle.

Katara blushed "What did you mean by what you said before?"

"And what was that?" he asked still smiling.

Katara looked away"When you said that Aang gave up the world for me".

He looked down "I meant it only in the sense that he gave up his best chance to save the world for you"

"What is that?" she asked feeling guilty.

"The avatar state" he said calmly.

"What how" asked Katara moving closer, now fighting back tears "how did him lo...loving me stop him from using the avatar state"

The Guru paused for a moment thinking "tell me" he said finally "what do you know about Chakras"

Katara thought "Nothing really."

Pathik frowned then continued "In short for Aang to master the avatar state he had to let go of negative aspects within himself."

"And" she asked impatiently.

"Aang succeeded in opening 6 of the 7 Chakras within him but he could not open the last".

"Why not" asked Katara dreading the answer.

"Because it would have meant him giving up you"

"That's sick" she yelled but clapped a hand to her mouth, were had that come from. She thought to her self before realising "but he went into the avatar state under Ba Sing Se does that mean..."She could not continue as she was crying again.

The Guru took her by the shoulders gently and said "Explain" and she did she explained how she had been captured by the Dai Li, how Aang had come for her, she spoke about there battle with Azula and Zuko, how they had been over whelmed when the Dai Li came, Aang had entered the Avatar state and how Azula had shot him in the back with a bolt of lightning, it was hear that Katara fell to her knees weeping. The Guru knelt down and looked at her "I understand" he said smiling.

Katara still sobbing looked up and said "He loved me and let me go and you told me all this, I could have gone on oblivious but no you, you had to tell me how he had felt, what am I going to do now"

The Guru just looked at her waiting, when she calmed down a bit he said "Katara".

"What" she snapped at him hating him for what he had done to her.

"He failed"

Katara looked up at him still crying but in shock. She did not know what to do, she was lost. How was she supposed to feel, how did she feel. She was at a point when she could barely think when she heard a noise from below, "Katara" it said weakly. She quickly jumped down to were Aang was lying, ripping her cloths in her rush. When she got to Aang's bed side she smiled as he looked at her, "hey" he said.

"Hey" she replied laughing slightly, she stroked the top of his new hair drawing it to his attention. She smiled at him, she knew now.

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Many miles away the figure in black approached a village in the earth kingdom, a stranger came to meat him as he approached. He did not know this man, razing a hand he sent a blast of air to meat him sending him backwards back to his village. The figure smiled, he new that this would be fun.

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Over Ba Sing Se a great red Airship was newly hovering over the city blocking out the star light below. Azula smiled as her brother approached in travelling cloths. "Go show father the new toy Zuko" she smiled as she observed her achievement. Next will be the water tribe.

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Kraiken: Enjoy, I know you did if you want more just ask Chapter 2 already in the works and I give it to you when I get 21 reviews! 


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